Mindfulness in Education: Perpetuating the Status Quo or Liberation From Suffering?

• In Event: Spirituality in K–12 and Postsecondary Classroom Settings

Abstract

I analyze the ethical and material implications of mainstreaming mindfulness-based practices in modern, Western, secular educational institutions (K-12 and higher education). Mindfulness, in its original conceptualization, is rooted in Buddhist philosophy and ethics. Furthermore, mindfulness is one part of a system of ethics as conceptualized in Buddhist teachings. However, in its modern reinterpretation, mindfulness is predominantly applied as a self-help intervention in order to affect behavioural modification with the original core Buddhist ethical tenets removed. My inquiry will focus on research that suggests that instrumental forms of mindfulness practice in education may perpetuate the status quo and support the entrenchment of highly problematic social and cultural practices. These include: racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc.

Author

• Muga Miyakawa, Simon Fraser University